Oxford University Ready to Test Anti-Malaria Drug Hydroxychloroquine on Coronavirus Patients

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/03/24/oxford-university-ready-to-test-anti-malaria-drug-hydroxychloroquine-on-coronavirus-patients/

A team of researchers at Oxford University in England are set to begin testing coronavirus patients with the anti-malarial drug touted by President Donald Trump as a possible solution to the widening pandemic.

Tests of hydroxychloroquine are set to begin on coronavirus patients in National Health Service (NHS) hospitals as early as this week, pending regulatory approval from the government. The Oxford University team has also begun testing the steroid dexamethasone and Lopinavir-Ritonavir, a drug used in fighting HIV.

“The figures on the epidemic are just frightening. If something works, by God we’ve got to know and we have to use it,” Martin Landray, professor of medicine and epidemiology at Oxford, told The Times.

The trails of hydroxychloroquine were fast-tracked after the researchers saw data from overwhelmed Italian critical care units. The hope for the anti-malarial drug is that if it is effective in treating the Chinese virus, it will reduce the number of patients who need ventilator machines, which are in short supply in the UK.

“Knocking a few percentage points off the risk — on a pandemic of this scale, that would have massive implications. It would tell us where we should be focusing our efforts,” Professor Landray said.

The speed at which the results from the study will be made available is currently unknown and will depend in large part on the amount of COVID-19 patients enter into the study.

“When we tell the world the answer, we need to tell them the right answer — this is no time for guesswork. Will it be two months? Four months? I just don’t know. But these are drugs where we have supplies in warehouses now,” Landray said.

There have been promising studies out of South Korea and China, which have found the use of hydroxychloroquine effective at fighting coronavirus infections. A study published in France has also found that the drug showed promise in fighting the virus, particularly when used in concert with the antibiotic azithromycin.

Last week, President Donald Trump ordered the Food and Drug Administration to begin clinical testing of hydroxychloroquine and the closely related drug chloroquine, which he said looks promising as a possible solution to the Chinese virus.

Some health experts have warned that the current info on the drugs is too limited to make a determination as to its effectiveness and safety when used to treat coronavirus patients.

“Any of evidence that we have is very anecdotal, and we can’t have doctors just prescribing it, because it may actually be very unsafe for these conditions,” Dr Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, told SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Tonight.

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https://twitter.com/TeaPainUSA/status/1242269991564648456

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Wuhan Whistleblowers: China Allowed ‘Mass Release of Infected Patients’ to Protect Regime

https://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2020/03/23/wuhan-whistleblowers-china-allowed-mass-release-infected-patients-protect-regime/

A doctor in Wuhan, the city in China where the coronavirus outbreak began, claimed on Thursday that officials began deliberately undercounting infections ahead of Chinese dictator Xi Jinping’s visit the previous week.

The doctor, and some Wuhan residents speaking to foreign media, said claims of zero new infections in Wuhan by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) “cannot be trusted.”

Japan’s Kyodo News quoted the anonymous Wuhan doctor saying that patients were pushed out of quarantine over his objections to prepare for Xi’s visit. He said a “mass release of infected patients began” around the time Xi arrived, with tests scaled back or discontinued so that patients could be “released back into society.”

Radio Free Asia (RFA) on Friday quoted Wuhan residents who were extremely skeptical of official claims that zero new infections were detected beginning on March 18:

Wuhan resident Zhang Ruyi said public trust in the government is at a low ebb, because of attempts by local health officials to cover up the emergence of the new pathogen in December, partly by suppressing information and partly by classifying the surge of new cases as “pneumonia.”

“It’s funny, that,” Zhang said, adding that he is highly skeptical of the claim. “They’re not just lying now; they’ve been lying since the start, by classifying [COVID-19] cases under other diseases.”

“There are 60 million people in Hubei [the province where Wuhan is located], and they have all just been left to live or die without any help,” he said. “It’s basically down to a person’s immune system.”

“They are saying that only a few thousand died here in Wuhan, but does that sound right?”

Wuhan residents also noticed that mortuaries have been working overtime and hiring extra staff to collect and cremate bodies, a level of activity far beyond what would be necessary to cope with the 3,000 officially recognized fatalities in Hubei.

Furthermore, at the same time officials were claiming zero new infections, social media reports said dozens of people were being admitted to local hospitals with symptoms suspiciously similar to the coronavirus. Hospitals in Hubei have been caught clearly undercounting the number of infections and instructing patients to keep quiet about the treatment they are receiving.

“We can’t tell whether there are new cases in the hospitals or not, but local officials are sure to be covering up the truth,” another local eyewitness told RFA.

Hong Kong media charged on Monday that over 43,000 “silent carriers” – people who tested positive for the coronavirus but displayed no visible symptoms of illness – were undercounted by the Chinese government, making the full number of infections over 120,000 instead of the 79,000 reported. Chinese health officials stated in February that “silent carriers” would be quarantined and monitored, but would not be counted as coronavirus infections.

The Epoch Times on Sunday reported obtaining copies of Chinese government documents that confirm suspicions of deliberate undercounting:

The documents include four reports from the Wuhan health commission, which were statistical data sheets about diagnostic test results in the city on March 14.

The data showed that there were 91 newly diagnosed patients in Wuhan on March 14. China’s National Health Commission only reported 4 cases for that date.

Meanwhile, two residential compounds in Wuhan posted notices to alert their residents that there were people living there who were diagnosed with the CCP virus on March 19—another indication that the Chinese regime is concealing the epidemic’s true scale.

(Note: “CCP Virus” is the Epoch Times’ preferred name for the disease).

According to these Chinese government documents, local officials are well aware that new cases of the coronavirus kept appearing after March 18, the day Beijing began trumpeting zero new infections in Wuhan.

Neighborhood organizations continue reporting new cases of infection and more doctors are still being called into Wuhan despite the government making a great show of sending home hundreds of visiting medical staff who were supposedly no longer needed.

Small groups of Wuhan residents were seen leaving their homes on Monday for the first time in weeks as lockdown restrictions were partially lifted. Local officials said people who passed health screening would soon be allowed to return to work and non-residents trapped in the city since late January could begin requesting permission to return home.

Devil in the details: Media jumps to blame Trump for death of man who self-medicated with FISH TANK CLEANER containing chloroquine

https://www.rt.com/usa/483908-media-blame-trump-chloroquine/

An Arizona man has died after consuming a substance used to clean aquariums – but is also found in a drug the US president said could treat Covid-19 – prompting the US media to hop aboard the Trump blame train, details be damned.

The Phoenix-area man and his wife – who survived – ingested a form of chloroquine used as a fish tank cleaner on Monday, reportedly after hearing President Trump mention the chemical on TV. Though the substance is similar to one used in an anti-malaria drug touted as a possible treatment for the coronavirus, the aquarium additive comes in a different form and is highly toxic to humans. But that hasn’t stopped a spate of media outlets from casting blame on the president, insisting he encouraged the couple to guzzle down a lethal dose of a dangerous drug.

From NBC, to the Hill – which falsely claimed the man had taken a “malaria medication” – to ABC and beyond, much of the US press corps rushed to place the tragedy squarely on Trump’s shoulders. Netizens soon pointed out the problem with that framing, however, shredding the news agencies for running with a “dishonest” narrative.

While the president did suggest the anti-malarial had “very encouraging early results” in treating Covid-19, he noted it would still have to undergo clinical trials. At no point did he recommend anyone self-administer the drug outside the care of a doctor, and certainly never called for the consumption of any form of fish tank cleaner, as many pointed out on social media.

“BREAKING FROM @NBCNews! Do NOT ingest FISH TANK CLEANER,”wrote former Trump staffer Boris Epshteyn.

“They ate aquarium cleaner chemicals. Aquarium cleaner,”said another netizen. “Sad, but Trump isn’t responsible for people’s stupid actions.”

The Arizona man is not the first to go wrong in attempting to self-medicate with the substance, with a number of reports out of Nigeria stating that hospitals had seen a series of chloroquine overdoses following President Trump’s first mention that it could be used to combat Covid-19.

Republicans Close to Conceding to Some Democratic Demands on Coronavirus Aid Package – Report

https://sputniknews.com/us/202003241078695982-republicans-close-to-conceding-to-some-democratic-demands-on-coronavirus-aid-package–report/

It has been a sleepless night for US legislators working on a massive bill to bring some relief to businesses and workers who have taken an economic hit due to the coronavirus pandemic. After two days of partisan infighting in the Senate, the two parties are said to be nearing a compromise.

The Democrats and Republicans are set to roll out on Tuesday a historic coronavirus emergency aid package following two days of stalled talks on Capitol Hill.

On Sunday and Monday, the Democrats blocked Senate votes on a $1.8-trillion Republican proposal; they accused the GOP of seeking to provide financial assistance to big businesses without enough congressional oversight and, overall, of caring too much about corporations and too little about workers.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi soon unveiled her own proposal, worth $2.5 trillion, which was dubbed by Republicans as a “socialist wish list” and an attempt to exploit the pandemic to push forward unrelated points on the Democratic agenda, such as union giveaways and expanded environmental protection measures.

However, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who has been negotiating the package, expressed optimism after talks on Capitol late Monday that it “could be closed out tomorrow.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters that he felt there has been “a lot of progress” in the negotiations. “There's still a couple of open issues, but I think we’re very hopeful that this can be closed out” on Tuesday.

“We expect to have an agreement tomorrow morning,” he said. “There’s still a few little differences. Neither of us think they’re in any way going to get in the way of a final agreement.”

What concessions did Republicans make?

NBC News reports, citing aides from both sides of the aisle, that Republicans have agreed to make some concessions on the package. Those apparently include unemployment insurance and an increase in funding for hospitals.

Republicans had earlier agreed to boost insurance payments by $250 billion on top of the $250 billion in direct payments from the Internal Revenue Service to individuals under their initial plan. Their version of the bill would also allocate $75 billion for hospitals, compared with Pelosi’s $150 billion proposal.

The House Speaker told CNBC on Tuesday that “there is real optimism that we could get something done in the next few hours”.

Pelosi said Republicans had agreed to for an inspector general and a congressional panel of five people to oversee the aid given to businesses out of the Treasury’s $500 billion loan programme for distressed industries. She added she felt that the new changes have shifted the bill “sufficiently to the side of workers”.

In a Tuesday morning tweet, President Donald Trump urged Congress to approve the deal “without all the nonsense, today.”

“The longer it takes, the harder it will be to start up our economy,” he wrote. “Our workers will be hurt!” he wrote amid reported frustrations about the economic havoc caused by businesses shutting down across the country.”

Congress has been under mounting pressure to provide financial assistance and incentives to the economy as businesses lay off workers and shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. More than 42,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the United States, with the death toll surpassing 500 on Monday.

Russian coronavirus vaccine passes first phase of development - expected to be ready in 11 months

https://www.rt.com/russia/483834-coronavirus-vaccine-1-phase-completed/

As Covid-19 rapidly spreads, the world is united in hoping for a light at the end of the tunnel. On Monday, some potentially good news came from Moscow where hopes are high that progress has been made on a vaccine.

The head of the Russian Federal Biological Medical Agency (FMBA), Veronika Skvortsova, announced that the remedy should be available before the end of next winter. The FMBA has two teams — in Moscow and Saint Petersburg — working simultaneously on the project.

"I would like to tell you about the development of the vaccine. The development of the vaccine has gone through the first phase," Skvortsova told news agency TASS. She added that all stages of testing and development will end in June, with the preparation of the remedy to be completed around the middle of fall.

This is a "recombinant vaccine, [which comes] not from a live virus, but from proteins that have so-called 'epitopes,' or virus-binding sites," she stated. An epitope is the part of the antigen's macro-molecule that is recognized by the immune system.

The FMBA's mission is to protect public health and safety in Russia, with special responsibility for disease control and prevention. Skvortsova was Russian Health Minister, for eight years until stepping down in January. In 2017, she was elected as the 70th President of the World Health Organization.

As of Monday afternoon, Russia has recorded 438 cases of coronavirus, with 262 of them in Moscow. There has been one death, not directly related to the infection, while 17 people have already recovered and have been discharged from hospitals.